U.S. CPI at 39-year high but in line with expectations Philippines shares gain 1.3% to reach two-week high S. Korean won rises a day before cenbank meeting China shares tumble 1.2%, yuan hits over 2-week high Jan 13 (Reuters) - Most emerging Asian currencies and stocks gained on Thursday as the U.S. dollar slumped to a two-month low after inflation data came in line with market expectations and was deemed unlikely to change the Federal Reserve"s policy tightening timeline. The Thai baht led gains by firming nearly 0.5%, followed by South Korea"s won and the Indonesian rupiah . Equities in the Philippines (.PSI) advanced 1.3%, while Taiwan (.TWII) and Kuala Lumpur (.KLSE) rose about 0.3%. Data released overnight showed U.S. consumer prices rose at their fastest rate in nearly 40 years in December, but were not far off from expectations. read more The data is unlikely to temper the Fed"s plan as the U.S. central bank has already flagged higher rates this year, with markets pricing in three hikes. "As the roadmap of tightening gets clear, some traders may look for an exit and profit-taking opportunities," said Margaret Yang, a strategist at DailyFX, referring to the weakness in the greenback. "A soft U.S. dollar is generally positive for stocks, commodities and emerging market assets." The won edged up 0.3% ahead of the Bank of Korea"s meeting on Friday, where a 25 basis point rate hike is expected. The currency gained every day this week to add over 1%. After this week"s expected rate increase, HSBC analysts forecast one last hike in the fourth quarter. Malaysia"s ringgit rose for a fifth straight session, buoyed by recent gains in oil prices, which have weighed on the Philippine peso , down as much as 0.5% during the session. Current account deficit is likely to overshadow economic growth and portfolio inflows in the Philippines, which will be negative for the peso, Tan Boon Heng, a market economist at Mizuho Bank, said in a research note. However, Manila stocks hit a two-week high as the country"s central bank assured a surge in COVID-19 cases would not hit its economic growth targets substantially. Meanwhile, the Chinese yuan briefly touched a more than two-week high, before paring gains due to heightened worries over new COVID-19 outbreaks and after lending in December fell more than expected. read more That also weighed on China"s benchmark stock index (.SSEC), down 1.2%, with property and consumption sectors leading the fall. HIGHLIGHTS ** Indonesian 10-year benchmark yields up 12 basis points at 7.082% ** Top gainers on Thailand"s SETI (.SETI) include Sahamitr Pressure Container PCL (SMPC.BK), up 15%, and Better World Green PCL (BWG.BK), up 14.04% ** Investors switched to long positions on India"s rupee for the first time since September, on hopes that the country"s economy may be able to withstand the worst of the Omicron surge, a Reuters poll found read more Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0849 GMT COUNTRY FX RIC FX DAILY % FX YTD % INDEX STOCKS DAILY % STOCKS YTD % Japan +0.10 +0.49 (.N225) -0.96 -1.05 China -0.04 -0.10 (.SSEC) -1.17 -2.32 India -0.05 +0.51 (.NSEI) 0.05 4.99 Indonesia +0.07 -0.38 (.JKSE) 0.05 1.05 Malaysia +0.17 -0.31 (.KLSE) 0.13 -0.14 Philippines -0.10 -0.08 (.PSI) 1.28 2.60 S.Korea +0.25 +0.11 (.KS11) -0.35 -0.52 Singapore -0.01 +0.24 (.STI) -0.05 4.15 Taiwan +0.12 +0.20 (.TWII) 0.33 1.20 Thailand +0.42